DESTRO

Do you remember a couple of weeks ago when I gave you the history of G.I. Joe over the course of three different posts? Well for your benefit I may have over simplified it somewhat. G.I. Joe did begin as a 12 ” doll in the 60s and then in the 80s he became a 3 3/4″ action figure. The smaller Joes resurfaced in 2002 with new designs but with the same construction and this was known as the new-sculpt era which was followed by the current modern style with improved sculpting and articulation. That’s where I left it to keep things simple. Truth be told though the path from A to B wasn’t quite that direct and there have been some forks in the road along the way, most better off forgotten. There was G.I. Joe EXTREME in 1996…just dreadful. And before that was the spin-off Sgt. Savage which was pretty underwhelming. In 2005 as the new sculpt figures were dying off and the modern era was still a couple of years away Hasbro tried to reboot the franchise with G.I. JOE : SIGMA SIX. Sigma Six was blocky anime inspired new interpretation of Joe that focused on a smaller group of characters. The cartoon was well done and though it didn’t feel like “my” G.I. Joe it was still pretty watchable. The characters from my day were still there just re-imagined with new looks. The figures were 8″ tall and often had cloth accessories so they were almost a combination of the 3 3/4″ action figure and the 12″ doll. Some of the figures looked pretty cool and I was tempted to pick a couple up, like Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow but I resisted. The smaller joes were getting harder to find but were still being produced so I decided to stick to what I knew. But then I believe it was birthday that rolled around, possibly Christmas and my lil Bro bought me this figure. It was a pleasant surprise as it’s not to often that someone can buy me a Joe before I buy it for myself but where I had ruled these guys out I totally wasn’t expecting it. I may not have ever bought it on my own but I’d be lying if I said this guy wasn’t cool.

First off, it’s a Destro figure. Destro is one of the main baddies of the Joe universe and a cool looking one at that. He wears a metal mask which he somehow magically seems to emote through but silly or not it looks cool. The fact that it’s vac-sealed to give it that metallic reflective surface is pretty sweet. The colors on this guy leave a little something to be desired. I think Destro looks better in black, purple just doesn’t scream tough-guy nobleman arms-dealer to me. There is something to be said for an action figure with some weight to it as opposed to a little breakable thing. This Figure feels tough and sturdy and comes loaded with accessories. He has a big giant case to store his big giant gun as well as a brief case, a targeting system for him missile launcher and a bunch of firing missiles. Coolest accessory of the bunch is the big blingy Cobra medallion he wears around his neck like a pimp. This toy almost won me over enough to buy more of these Sigma Six figures but I held my ground and now these things are but a distant memory. 6 out 10.